iPhone Can’t Connect to Unsecured Network? How-To Fix

Most of us connect to an unsecured network at some point. Places like hotels, airports, local and national coffee shops and cafes like Starbucks, university networks, hospitals, and medical centers, and even some businesses, including the Apple Store, all offer unsecured access to WiFi networks. But sometimes, your iPhone will not join an unsecured network (s)!

After updating to the latest iOS, quite a few of our readers report difficulties when trying to connect to ANY unsecured wireless network. They see a warning that the network is not secure and cannot bypass it!

Others report being able to connect but only briefly! Following an iOS update, their devices connect to the unsecured WiFi network but then almost immediately, the connection drops out.

How An Unsecured WiFi Connection Should Work

Your current iOS, like previous iOS versions, should still connect to unsecured networks with a security warning that your connection is not secure.

iOS displays warnings like unsecured network on networks that do not enable WPA encryption or higher.

Receiving this error should not prevent you from connecting to ANY network. It’s informational, so you know that your data can be intercepted.

Fixes for iPhone Can’t Connect to Unsecured Network

After trying to connect to the unsecured network, immediately open Safari and look for a login page followed by a welcome page. Even without a password requirement, you may need to tick a box accepting terms to get access

Use a Different Browser

If you still cannot connect to unsecured wireless network, some folks report that just changing from Safari to Chrome or Firefox fixed the issue for them.

Make sure that you first disable Auto-Join and Auto-Login before opening a browser session

Go to Settings > WiFi > Select the Unsecured Network. Then tap the “i” next to that WiFi network you’re trying to login to and toggle OFF both “Auto-Join” and “Auto-Login.”

Open Firefox and type in the address for that WiFi network’s login page or simply type in “captive.apple.com” into the search bar. A message lets you know that this is an unsecured network. Tap “visit site anyway.” Now log in to that WiFi network

Reader Tips

After you connect to wifi, open Safari and the wifi network’s auto-login page should appear. Just fill in your ID and password or check a box that you agree to the terms and conditions

Download the Chrome browser. Then, after connecting to WiFi, open Chrome and type in login.com. You should see the login page for the available wifi network. Tap accept to connect

Go to Settings > WiFi and find the network you want to connect to. Tap on the small, blue “i” to the very right. Scroll down to Configure DNS and tap Manual. Under DNS SERVERS, enter 192.1.1.1 and tap Save in the top-right corner. Now, wait 2-3 minutes until the WiFi icon appears in the top-left. Once the WiFi icon appears, go back to those DNS SERVERS and remove your entry (192.1.1.1) and select Automatic and save again. Next, open a browser session (usually Safari) and type in an address. If you see a warning about an unsafe connection or invalid certificate, tap on Advanced and use the browser. If requested, tap accept if you get an acknowledgment page

Ask your IT department or help desk to add a new security profile for whatever iOS you’re using

Open Safari and type in captive.apple.com and it should open up the login page for that WiFi Network and allow you to join

What worked for me was manually setting up my DNS

Open Settings > WiFi > tap on the “i” next to the unsecured network you want to join

Forget the network

Find that network again and click the “i” again

Choose configure DNS

Click Manual > Add Server > Type in 192.1.1.1 and SAVE

Join the network again

Wait for the WiFi icon to show up on-screen

Click the “i” again

Choose configure DNS again

Delete the Manual Server you just added

Choose Automatic then SAVE

Tap on the i icon next to the unsecured network name and then tap on the “Learn more about recommended settings for WiFi…” text under the Unsecured Network section. Once you see this info, everything works fine!

For most of her professional life, Amanda Elizabeth (Liz for short) trained all sorts of folks on how to use media as a tool to tell their own unique stories. She knows a thing or two about teaching others and creating how-to guides!

Her clients include Edutopia, Scribe Video Center, Third Path Institute, Bracket, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Big Picture Alliance.

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Have you tried forgetting the network then restarting and joining that network again? Also, temporarily toggle off Auto-Join and see if that makes any difference.

If this happened just after updating to iOS 12 or a version of iOS 12.x.x, it’s possible that your workplace requires a security profile. Your phone may need a new security profile for iOS 12–talk to your IT Support Team to find out if this is a requirement.

Another option is to connect to the network and then immediately open the Safari App. Look for the wifi network’s auto-login page to appear. Enter in your ID and password, if needed, or check a box that you agree to the terms and conditions.

If that doesn’t work, try using Chrome or Another browser. After connecting to the WiFi network, open Chrome and type in login.com in the web address bar.

The answer in my case: Boingo WiFi Finder. It was installed and actually PREVENTED the log on screen. Two ways to go: either use the app. Or, much better: delete it ( it is called Wi-Finder, in the app listing). It is a completely useless app anyhow, and it made me waste hours, before I found this out. I deleted the app: now everything works like a charm.

Hi, having major trouble trying to connect on an unsecured open wifi at work. I tried all the steps above with no luck. Once I changed the DNS to manual with 192.1.1.1 and connect again, no wifi symbol appears top left corner of screen despite waiting for ages. Therefore, the phone is not being tricked.